Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Makes New $123,000 Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $187.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $37.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $261.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.